Boxer Tony Luis back in the ring Saturday in Montreal

Cornwall's Tony Luis, pictured at his Champs Eastside Boxing Club, will be back in the ring for the first time in over a year, fighting in Montreal on Saturday.Photo in Cornwall, Ont. Todd Hambleton/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia NetworkTodd Hambleton / Todd Hambleton/Standard-Freeholder

Professional boxer Tony Luis is climbing back into the ring, on Saturday in Montreal.

Luis, 30, will be fighting for the first time in over a year, on the card in a lightweight division bout in the Cabaret Room at the Casino de Montreal.

Luis, the most accomplished professional boxer out of Cornwall and all of Eastern Ontario, has a 25-3 record (8 KOs), with six victories in a row.

On Monday, Luis’ father and trainer Jorge Luis spoke about his son’s return to the ring, and what will be a scheduled eight-round bout against Mexican fighter Edgar Ramirez (17-13, 14 KOs).

“(Ramirez is) a tough guy, he comes to fight,’’ Jorge Luis said. “He can bang a little bit, and he’s only been stopped (knocked out) twice.’’

It’s a return to Tony’s pro boxing roots – the Cabaret Room is where he made his debut over a decade ago, on May 3 in 2008.

“He had quite a few fights there, eight or nine, early in his career,’’ Jorge Luis said.

Pro boxing in the Cabaret Room went on hiatus for several years while renovations were done. Luis’ career went in other directions, and the last couple of years he’s been with Liveco Entertainment Inc., and he’s been promoted by Liveco CEO Denis Benoit, who’s originally from Cornwall.

It’s Liveco and Benoit who put on those shows in Cornwall in 2017, three galas, with Luis fighting in all of them and collecting three more wins, including last October 14.

But then came the inactivity, and for a number of reasons, according to Jorge Luis.

“A couple of good opportunities were cancelled, (and) there was some bad luck,’’ he said.

The inactivity led to Luis being stripped of his belt by the World Boxing Association because he failed to defend his national title in the last year. But Luis is still ranked the 15th best lightweight boxer on the planet, and he wants to go back into a place he loves – the ring.

“Tony wants to take another run at the brass ring,’’ Jorge Luis said. “He fought for a world title (a handful of years ago). He’s number-one in Canada in the lightweight division. I think he’ll fight for a couple more years.’’

The ultimate goal would be to be the WBA champ, and in the shorter term, the trainer thinks climbing into the top 10 is attainable.

“The training has been going well,’’ Jorge Luis said. “Tony stayed in the gym all these months (while not fighting professionally), and at this point in his career, it’s not about getting ready, it’s about staying ready.’’

Because in boxing, things can change quickly. It looked a few months ago like Luis would fight in Australia, but it didn’t happen.

“You just always have to be ready,’’ Jorge Luis said. “Tony knows that he knows he’s had a very good career. This is about getting back into the ring, something he loves.’’

As an amateur, Luis was a seven-time provincial champ and five-time medalist at the nationals. Luis is the only fighter ever from Cornwall to fight for a world title, as he did in England four years ago.

In fact, nobody else from Eastern Ontario has ever fought for a world title. Gale Kerwin, a fighter out of Ottawa who is now deceased, was a welterweight who at one point in the 1950s was ranked 10th by Ring Magazine, but “he was never lucky enough to fight for a world title,’’ Jorge Luis noted.

The Saturday card in Montreal is being promoted by Groupe Yvon Michel, which was Luis’ first promoter back in 2008.